Solitaire is a single player game which originiated in northern Europe around the 1700s. The goal of the game is to stack cards into sequences. These sequences are based on suits and rank. For example, the cards will be stacked K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A with no mixed suits.
The game is both logical and fun. Its a simple game you can play to take the edge off, with many different types which include: Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid, Tripeaks, Golf, and Mahjong, all of which can be played by clicking here.
The Classic Solitaire game space consists of these elements:
- The draw pile. A deck of 52 cards. These are shuffled into random order. Of course, the computer versions will shuffle the desks for you.
- The Foundations. This is a place where piles of cards can be stacked in numerical order. This space is left empty at the start of the game. The beginning foundation card is the Ace of each suit upon which the rest of the cards are stacked, all the way up to the King of that suit.
- A Table, or tableau. These are either empty spaces or feature cards that are temporarily stored before being added to a Foundation.
Klondike Solitaire
Klondike – TDPel MediaKlondike has 2 modes, easy and normal. Turning 3 cards at a time from the stock pile is normal and turning 1 card at a time is easy. The cards will then be automatically dealt. The game is timed and the time starts as soon as the deal is done.
Scoring is as follows:
- lay a card on the foundation for the first time +15 points
- add a new card to the tableau or turn one over +5 points
- every 30 seconds -8 points
In the U.S. and Canada, Klondike is the best-known version of the Solitaire card game. When someone refers to “Klondike Solitaire” or “Patience”, it is just another way of saying “Solitaire”. Klondike Solitaire may have been named after the Canadian region of the same name after the game arrived in the region from Europe during the 19th century.
Over the years, “Klondike” has mostly been dropped.
The most famous version of Klondike Solitaire is the Microsoft Windows version that came bundled with the operating system up until Windows Version 10.
The goal of the game is to stack cards into sequences. These sequences are based on suits and rank. For example, the cards will be stacked K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A with no mixed suits.
You move cards around the gamespace following a set of rules. It’s possible to follow all the rules and still get blocked if you lack strategy and some luck. Blocking yourself in means you lose the game.
You lay out seven cards in a row. All are face down except the first card. Then, you place an upturned card on top of the second card, then complete the row face down again.
More information on how to play Klondike Solitaire and actually playing it can be found by clicking here.
Spider Solitaire
Spider Solitaire – TDPel MediaSpider Solitaire has 3 modes: easy , medium and hard.
The playing field is organized with ten columns on the Tableau. Fifty four cards are dealt, with 4 columns having 6 cards each and 6 columns having 5 cards each.
The remaining 50 cards are in the Reserve, which is dealt atop the columns in the Tableau across 5 deals.
You start with 500 points, every move is -1 point. You get 100 points for each Royal Flush.
If you’ve played traditional Classic Solitaire, and looking for more of a challenge, you might want to take a look at some of the variations. One difficult and challenging variation, Spider Solitaire, is a very popular two-deck version of the game.
You play by assembling thirteen cards of a suit, in descending sequence from King to Ace.
Once a full suit of thirteen cards is assembled, it is discarded.
The goal of the game is to stack cards into sequences. These sequences are based on suits and rank. For example, the cards will be stacked K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A with no mixed suits.
You move cards around the gamespace following a set of rules. It’s possible to follow all the rules and still get blocked if you lack strategy and some luck. Blocking yourself in means you lose the game.
More information on how to play Spider Solitaire and actually playing it can be found by clicking here.
Freecell Solitaire
This game allows you to shuffle through the reserve pile an unlimited number of times. The playing field is organized with eight columns on the Tableau. All 52 cards are dealt into the game space.
You start with 500 points, every move is -1 point. Your goal is to try to complete the game with as many points as possible!
Freecell Solitaire differs from Classic Solitaire in that the cards are dealt face-up. Also, unlike more challenging versions, such as Spider Solitaire, very few Freecell Solitaire games are unsolvable.
“FreeCell” features four empty spaces, or cells, that are used for the temporary storage of cards. The FreeCells can be used to store single cards.
FreeCell is “open” in that the cards are dealt face up at the start of the game. This means that nearly every game can be won as players can plan their moves ahead.
Like Solitaire, the goal of the game is to stack cards into sequences. These sequences are based on suits and rank. For example, the cards will be stacked K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A with other cards of identical suits.
More information on how to play Freecell Solitaire and actually playing it can be found by clicking here.
Pyramid Solitaire
Pyramid Solitaire – TDPel MediaPyramid Solitaire differs from Classic Solitaire in that the cards are arranged in a pyramid layout. The object of the game is to remove pairs of cards that add up to a total of thirteen from a pyramid arrangement of twenty eight cards.
Each match of two different values is five points, Kings are five points. Each row you remove from the pyramid is also worth additional points:
The bottom row is 25 points. The second row is 50 points. The third row is 75 points. The fourth row is 100 points. The fifth row is 150 points. The sixth row is 250 points. The seventh row is 500 points. The maximum card score you can get if you use all cards in the draw pile is 1,255.
Finishing the game quickly can also give bonus points.
The max time score is set to 999 and then it subtracts a point for each second. So if you beat the game in 8 minutes and 21 seconds it would subtract 501 points (for 501 seconds) and award you 498 time-based bonus points.
The theoretical max score is 2,254, though that presumes you beat the game in no time at all.
More information on how to play Freecell Solitaire and actually playing it can be found by clicking here.
To play Pyramid Solitaire, check out Solitaire Bliss. Not only do they have the game, but they have related versions like Pyramid 2 Passes and Heart to Heart
Tripeaks Solitaire
Tripeaks – TDPel MediaThe playing field Tripeaks is organized into three pyramids, or “peaks”. There is a top row of three single cards (peaks of the pyramids) turned face-down, followed by a row of two cards, and so on, down to a final row of ten up-turned cards.
Most matches are worth five points. When you clear a row you get the row bonus score instead of the 5 points.
Clearing fourth row: 100 points. Clearing third row: 150 points. Clearing second row: 250 points. Clearing top row: 500 points.
Players earn a time bonus for completing the game quickly. The time bonus starts off at 1,000 points and counts down a point each second. If you finished the game in a minute and 18 seconds then it would be 922 bonus points.
The time bonus is added to your row bonus and card removal score to create your total score.
The theoretical maximum score is 2,120, which is comprised of:
- card removal: 120 points
- row bonus: 1,000 points
- time bonus: 1,000 points
It is hard to score more than 2,060 points as doing so requires you clearing 28 cards off the board in under a minute, with 5 seconds used up by the initial deal.
More information on how to play Freecell Solitaire and actually playing it can be found by clicking here.
Golf Solitaire
Golf Solitaire – TDPel MediaThe playing field of Golf Solitaire is organized with seven columns on the Tableau. Thirty five cards are dealt with five in each column, with one additional card on the Talon and the remaining 16 cards in the draw pile.
You get:
- Ten points for each card you clear from the tableau, for a maximum of 350 points.
- One hundred points for each card you have remaining in the draw pile when you complete the game, for a maximum of 1,600 points.
- Bonus based on a quick game completion time.
- This bonus is only granted if the game is completed in under 5 minutes.
- The max time bonus is 300 & each second you play takes away from the time bonus.
- If the game takes you over 5 minutes this score is set to zero rather than running into negative numbers.
- If you beat the game (350 points) in a minute and 33 seconds (206 points) with 8 cards left in the draw pile (800 points) the total score would be 1,356 points.
The rules of Golf Solitaire are:
- You can only move a card from the Table to the Talon pile if no other cards are on top of it and it is in sequence.
- Only the top card in each column may be removed from the Table. The card beneath it is then available for play.
- Cards rank A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K.
- If there are no moves possible, turn cards up one at a time from the stock to the Talon and resume playing.
- The Ace and the King can be played on top of each other.
- If you want a more difficult version, then the Ace and King cannot be played on top of each other.
- The aim is to clear the thirty five cards into the Talon pile. When you clear the thirty five cards, the game is won.
- If you are stuck and there are no more moves you can make, the game is lost.
More information on how to play Golf Solitaire and actually playing it can be found by clicking here.
Mahjong Solitaire
Mahjong Solitaire – TDPel MediaMahjong Solitaire differs from Classic Solitaire in that Mahjong Solitaire uses a set of Mahjong tiles rather than cards.
Mahjong uses tiles as opposed to cards. The object of the game is to match pairs of tiles that have the same image. This will uncover more tiles beneath, which can then be paired.
Once all the tiles have been paired, the game has been won.
Not all the tiles can be moved. A tile cannot be moved if there is a tile on top of it. It also can’t be moved if there is a tile right next to it, on both sides.
You lose the game if no more tiles can be moved.
In the computer game, of course, you can undo your previous move and keep playing until you do win. But, with a little practice, you shouldn’t need this feature!
Mahjong is “closed” in that many tiles are hidden at the start of the game.
You must uncover tiles to progress.
More information on how to play Mahjong Solitaire and actually playing it can be found by clicking here.
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